Visit again. And again. On us.
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$3,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
Plus, enjoy automatic upgrade to Premier Status after youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re approved
and earn Platinum Status faster just by using your card.

Learn more about the Fairmont Visa SignatureÂŽ Card at fairmont.com/card

THE ORIGINAL – THE LUGGAGE WITH THE GROOVES
In 1950, RIMOWA issued the first suitcase with the unmistakable grooves. Since then, it has evolved into a cult object in its own
right. To this day, the original RIMOWA luggage has lost none of its fascination. It remains the luggage of choice for all those
who seek the extraordinary – including models Alessandra Ambrosio and Johannes Huebl.
RIMOWA Stores North America: Honolulu, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Guam, San Francisco, Toronto

www.rimowa.com

HOW FAR
WOULD

YOU
GO ?
FOR AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS.
FOR UNPARALLELED EXPERTISE.
FOR GROUNDBREAKING TREATMENT.

YOUR LIFE IS WORTH THE TRIP.

When it comes to your life, distance should never be a factor. As soon as you know you need help, come to
Johns Hopkins Medicine. We’ve been innovating patient care at every point of the journey for over a century.
That includes making your journey to us as easy as possible. Let us help you plan your trip. The sooner, the
better the outcome.

to find out what
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has in store for you
this season. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll discover exclusive news and
offers to fit each of your passions.

cov er story

Arts on Fire

Ignited by architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest stars and a nascent art
scene, Baku, Azerbaijan, is ablaze with possibility.
By Ellen Himelfarb

Vol.9 No.1

28

D E PA RT M E N T S

16 Contributors
17 Check In

Travel, fashion & lifestyle.

89

Check Out

Istanbul’s newest architectural showpiece.
f eat u res

30

Ticket to Ride

A tour of London’s Abbey Road Studios
and The Savoy, celebrating its 125th
anniversary this year.
By Brett Schaenfield

44

Empress of the Night

51

Design Special

Catherine the Great considers her latest
political move in this historical novel excerpt.
By Eva Stachniak

Inside two hotel redesigns on opposite ends
of the world. By Andrew Braithwaite

52 PAST MEETS PRESENCE
A modern mosaic comes to life at Fairmont
Singapore, where renovations take local cues.

58 SENSE OF PLACE
The refreshed Fairmont Sonoma Mission
Inn & Spa delights each of the five senses.
Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona

66

Time Travel

A journey along Switzerland’s historic watch
making trail sheds light on what it takes to
make the best timepieces in the world.
By Carol Besler

30
19
On the cover Baku-based artist Farid Rasulov in “Carpet Interior,” an installation he originally
created for the Azerbaijan Pavillion at the 2013 Venice Biennale. Previous page: Baku’s newly opened
carpet museum.

t a Fairmont hotel, you never have to look out the window to know where you are in
the world. Fairmont prides itself on its unrivaled local presence, which means that
whether you’re visiting us in Dallas or Dubai, no two properties will ever feel the same.
A sense of place permeates every aspect of your stay, from the design of your room to
the garnish in your cocktail.
Making genuine connections with our guests is important to us – with a goal of creating
powerful memories that last long after you’ve left a Fairmont hotel or resort – and this issue of
Fairmont Magazine is all about celebrating these connections.
First, on our cover, meet Azerbaijan artist Farid Rasulov in one of his impressive art installations,
which play on traditional carpet patterns. Discover the work of Azeri artists among the hundreds
of pieces in the new Fairmont Baku, each a tribute to the city’s ascent into the international
contemporary art world. The hotel is a work of art in itself – it’s located within the Flame Towers,
a dazzling trio of fire-inspired buildings visible throughout the city and illuminated every night
with an incredible light show.
From there, we take you to London and two of its most important musical institutions:
Abbey Road Studios, where superstars like The Beatles, Radiohead and Adele have recorded, and
The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel. Celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, the five-star
hotel has long been a home-away-from-home for iconic musicians from Maria Callas to Madonna,
not to mention movie stars, heads of state and international royalty.
Next, we head to Montreux to learn about Switzerland’s most famous export – luxury
watches – by visiting private ateliers and even constructing a timepiece movement, all while
exploring the region that shaped the industry.
With that eye for detail in mind, we also reveal the inspiration behind two recently renovated
properties on opposite sides of the world. In California, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn &
Spa’s resort-wide refresh caters to every whim of the wine country traveler. At Fairmont Singapore,
the city’s unique mix of cultures played muse to its designers, and is revealed in everything from
tiles printed with Peranakan lace motifs to cocktails brimming with hyperlocal ingredients.
As Fairmont opens new doors around the world, from Chengdu to Riyadh, and gets set to
welcome hotels in Amman and Moscow over the next few years, two things will never change:
the genuine connections you will make and the memories you will take home with you.

Jennifer Fox

President, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

14

Fairmont Magazine

240 POST STREET, UNION SQUARE SAN FRANCISCO 415 402 0476

BROOKSBROTHERS.COM
NEW YORK

LONDON

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Contributors

Nathalie Cusson

Fairmont Magazine

Creative Director
Quebec native Nathalie Cusson’s
award-winning design and art
direction has graced the pages
of Glow, Food & Drink and Air
Canada’s enRoute. For Fairmont
Magazine’s cover shoot she
traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, by
the Caspian Sea, where she was
delighted to find a mix of old and
new around every corner. “Every
building and monument in the
city lights up at night, like rides
at a giant fair.”

Photographer
German-born, Barcelona-based
photographer Gunnar Knechtel
captures destinations around the world
for magazines like Dwell and Condé Nast
Traveler. In this issue of Fairmont
Magazine he documents Baku’s
burgeoning art scene and its rising stars,
both on the cover and in “Arts on Fire”
(p. 36). Next, he plans on spending his
summer vacation on Costa Brava.

Ellen Himelfarb

Writer
Born in the US, raised in Canada
and currently based in the UK, Ellen
Himelfarb is accustomed to traveling
the globe as a contributor to Wallpaper,
Elle and the Sunday Times Magazine.
For “Arts on Fire” (p. 36) she flew to
Baku to investigate Azerbaijan’s art
scene. “I got a real lesson in life there,
the creative spirit of the people.”

Natasha V.

Photographer
Award-winning Sarajevo-born
photographer Natasha V. regularly shoots
for clients including InStyle and Fashion
and her work has been featured in
Applied Arts and STEP magazine. In this
issue she captured the beauty of black
soap (p. 22) and portable perfume vessels
(p. 24). Next up, she hopes to work on
a dream project: “I’m a runner, and I
would love to shoot a photo essay about
young runners in Ethiopia.”

photo: Virginia MacDonald (nathalie cusson)

Editorial
Associate Editor

Vol.9 No.1

Check In
tr avel, fashion & lifest yle

Live the
experience
——

pag e 79

Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the oldest capital city in the United States, and forward-minded architects help preserve

photo: robert reck

the status of “The City Different” by drawing on its unique natural topography as inspiration for their work. The Santa Fe
Opera’s open-air Crosby Theatre perches on a mesa with the rocky-peaked Jemez Mountains to the west and the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains (the Rockies’ southernmost subrange) to the east. The desert’s dramatic skyscape serves as a living backdrop
to the performances, which are timed to begin at sundown. The building’s current iteration, designed by James Stewart
Polshek and Partners and opened in 1998, enhances every sound with two curved roofs, joined by a clerestory window, that
follow the trajectory of the acoustic reflections from the performance stage to the audience seating. Candice Fridman

ucumber slices, celery sticks,
tomato juice from a can. Once
upon a time, that was as close
as most veggies got to a cocktail glass.
But now bar-chefs, people who focus on
fresh and seasonal ingredients as much
as their kitchen counterparts, are moving
from the orchard to the vegetable patch
in search of inspiration.
“When I find myself saying ‘There
is no way I can put that in a cocktail!’ it
only drives me further,” says Tom Hogan,
lead bartender at Fairmont Singapore’s
new Anti:dote bar. The mixologist’s
mission has led him to concoct corn
liqueur, parsnip tinctures and squashinfused rum, as well as the Blood of
Dillinger, an earthy, beet-based tequila
cocktail made especially for Anti:dote.
Hogan isn’t the only one trying to
squeeze veggie cocktails into your five
servings a day. Molecular magician
Tony Conigliaro’s book The Cocktail Lab
(Random House) includes a recipe for
Pumpkin Bellinis, and you can find him
infusing green beans in vermouth at his
North London “lab,” 69 Colebrooke Row.
In New York, the prohibitioninspired Apotheke Cocktail Bar serves
up drinks bursting with unexpected
ingredients, including roasted corn and
edamame pods, while the Margarita de
Remolacha at Gran Electrica (pictured)
is brimming with beet juice. Order a
Garden Variety cocktail at The Wayland
in the East Village and you’ll get a dose
of everyone’s favorite superfood: kale.
Calling it “nutritious” may be a bit of a
stretch, but with strong. sweet notes of
ginger and lime, it is definitely delicious.

Eve Thomas

18

photo: Noah Fecks

see anti:dote bartender tom hogan in
action at everyonesanoriginal.com/
fairmont-magazine

Fairmont Magazine

Accents
1

2

9
8

7

Passage to India

4

Summer looks get a bold burst of color inspired by
Jaipur’s crafts and festivals.

Calgary, Canada’s love of a tall cold one has given rise
to a hopping beer scene in the city’s Beltline district.

Best for Microbrews With 72 craft beers on tap, National claims the city’s largest selection of microbrews, all of them
hailing from North America. Select beers are rotated into the mix every two weeks and displayed stock-market style on a digital
ticker tape. In the basement of the 10th Avenue location, find an eight-lane bowling alley, where you can roll a few strikes while
enjoying a perfect pint. 550 17 Ave. SW and 341 10 Ave . SW., NTNL.CA

20

Fairmont Magazine

BOTTLESCREW BILL’s

NATIONAL

Best for the Beer-Garden Vibe

With communal tables
tailor-made for downing a stein with friends (old and new), Wurst
Überkitchen Wunderbar provides an authentic German experience
complete with indoor trees strung with lights, a live oompah band
and Bavarian fare such as pretzels, schnitzel and, of course, wursts.
2437 4 St. SW., WURST.CA

Best for International Selection

Travel the earth from
the comfort of your bar stool at Bottlescrew Bill’s Pub by signing up
for the “Around the World in 80 Beers” passport. Taste-test your way
around the globe within a year and your name will be immortalized on
a plaque on the watering hole’s wall of fame. 140 10 Ave. SW., BOTTLESCREWBILL.COM

Best for Happy Hour Celebrating its centennial in 2014, The
Live the
experience
——

pag e 79

Fairmont Palliser in Calgary has always been the downtown destination
for the after-work crowd. The hotel’s elegant Oak Room is where the
city’s oilmen, hockey players, politicians and socialites meet for live
jazz and selections from the city’s best stills (including a special 100th
anniversary ale). Try tasty local brews from Village and Wild Rose.
133 9 Ave. SW., FAIRMONT.COm/palliser-calgary

photo: BRYCE MEYER (wurst)

Best for Pairings

When done just right, beer can complement
food as well as any wine. Two places that make it easy are 1410 World
Bier Haus and 1600 World Bier Haus – their menus spell out exactly
which brews match up well with which dishes. You can’t go wrong with
an AAA top sirloin and a Fuller’s. 1410 17 Ave. SW and 1600 90 Ave. SW, 1410BIERHAUS.COM;
wurst

1600BIERHAUS.COM

Jesse Semko

Fairmont Magazine

21

In Balance
Live the
experience
——

pag e 8 0

Clean Slate

she used to wash her face eight hundred times a day

with black soap. Don’t ask me why.” So says a
bewildered Woody Allen in Annie Hall as he holds up the
object in question: a bar of Erno Laszlo’s Sea Mud Soap.
Introduced at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1952, it was an instant cult
favorite, garnering devoted fans like Marilyn Monroe and
Jackie Kennedy.
Other luxury skincare lines have since made the move from
ivory to ebony – Marseille’s Marius Fabre makes a liquid version, Origins’ Skin Diver soap gets its hue from antibacterial
clove oil, and Carriage 44’s handcrafted No. 1 bar includes
activated bamboo charcoal.

22

Fairmont Magazine

While these brands helped set the modern trend, variations
of black soap have been in use for centuries around the world.
In West Africa, it is traditionally made from plantain skins and
cocoa pods. The name and recipe vary from region to region,
though the final product – often more golden than black – is
always touted for its skin-clarifying properties. Meanwhile, no
Middle Eastern hammam experience would be complete without
an application of the region’s own form of black soap, a dark
paste made from crushed olives. Just have a steam, apply, wait
and exfoliate. Or, book a treatment at Fairmont The Palm,
Dubai’s Willow Stream Spa and let an attendant do it for you.
The result? Skin so smooth you’ll see the light. Eve Thomas

photo: natasha v. (Crabtree & Evelyn black sea mud & seaweed soap)

Black soap may be the next big
thing, but it has long been a part of
the world’s best beauty regimes.

Thrill Seeker

o
n
L
o
c
a
t
i
o
n

Run with It

Stay in shape wherever you travel with tips
from Fairmont running club leaders.

p
r
o
t
i
p
s

“Whatever your

experience level, ensure that the run
follows an aerobic curve. That means a
steady and progressive warm-up, a main
jog or run, and then a cool down
followed by a post workout stretch.”

Philip Bartle

Assistant Director, Recreation
Fairmont The Palm, Dubai

“Try to run

in nature. In Boston we are very
fortunate to have a lot of green space
right in the city. I find that I’m better
able to let my mind relax when I’m
not dodging cars or pedestrians.”

Alison Jones

Fairmont Gold Supervisor
The Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston

“Stick with it!

Have you ever heard a song for the
first time and thought it was just okay,
and then had it become your favorite
song? The same thing will happen with
jogging once you feel the endorphins.”

The Business
of Bubbly
When Champagne house president
Cécile Bonnefond talks travel, she
keeps nothing bottled up.
First trip — I was born in Paris by mistake, so
I was about 15 days old when I traveled back
home to Évian, France, with my parents.
Best travel tip — When I was a little girl, I was
told that the only word you need to know when
you travel is “No,” to keep safe. Now that I’m
older, I think the only word you need to know
is “Yes,” to take advantage of opportunities.
Jet-lag remedy — I don’t get jet lag, but I’d
recommend a glass of good red wine and some
sleep for anyone who does.
When traveling, I wear — Something relaxed.
But I’m still French, so that’s French-relaxed.
No Crocs!
Best way to get to know a destination — Walk,
walk, walk. I love architecture, so I like to look
at doors, gates and buildings.
Plane, train or automobile? — I love short
trips on the train and long trips on the plane.
Twelve hours on a plane is just lovely because
there’s no phone reception.

Live the
experience
——

pag e 8 3

Cécile Bonnefond

Fondest travel memory — Hiking on my own
around the mountains in Banff and Jasper [in
Canada] for a week. I didn’t tell anyone that I
was going. I was warned about the bears, so I
kept making loud sounds to keep them away.
Favorite city — If I say Paris, that would be
boring, right? I also love Florence, Italy. It’s got
Old Italian charm and an enormous amount of
beautiful art, architecture and food.

With a sparkling track record in the bubbly
business, Cécile Bonnefond now works her
magic as head of the Charles Heidsieck and
Piper-Heidsieck Champagne houses.

Renée Morrison

Fairmont Magazine

25

Three Steps

Sommelier sos

From proper storage to serving etiquette,
get the best out of your bottles with
Dean & DeLuca wine director Kerrin Laz.

1/ Store wisely

If you don’t have room for a cellar, a wine refrigerator will
do. “Some people even use a closet for storage,” reveals Laz. Just be
sure to keep the bottles on their sides (so the cork doesn’t dry out) and
away from fluctuating temperatures, like those found in the kitchen.

2/Pair simply

FAIRMONTVINTAGES.COM

26

Fairmont Magazine

3/ Serve efficiently

Opt for a stone holder instead of an ice bucket: “They
don’t chill but, rather, keep the wine temperature stable.” It’s also
not necessary to have a different glass for each varietal. So-called
“universal glasses” have a large enough bowl that reds can open up
and whites don’t get lost in them. Candice Fridman

photo: virginia macdonald (top image)

Fairmont Vintages

Gourmet grocer Dean & DeLuca has partnered
with Fairmont to create Fairmont Vintages, a
wine club that brings the best of Napa Valley
to your door. The offer is open exclusively to
Fairmont President’s Club members in the US.

Try matching rather than contrasting the notes in a wine. If
you love a citrusy sauvignon blanc, opt for a roast chicken with Meyer
lemons, or poached seafood with citrus-olive oil. “Many people try
to make [the process] more difficult than it is, but matching the
nuance is a solid way to have something pair well.”

Tool Kit

Wireless

Head Gear

Whether you want to shut out the world
or show off your style, there’s a pair of
headphones for every situation.

Stylish
Quiet

Classic

Clockwise from top right: MOLAMI Pleat look as good as they sound with Napa leather and
a face-framing shape designed to highlight your cheekbones, US$300, molami.com;
URBANEARS Re:Plattan are assembled using parts left over from other headphones, and
purchasing a pair helps preserve the Costa Rican rainforest, US$49, urbanears.com; COLOUD
The Knock have an ultra-lightweight design and a patented “lasso system” for keeping cords
tangle-free, US$30, coloud.com; MARSHALL Majors are made from the same vinyl used in
Marshall’s iconic vintage amps, US$120, marshallheadphones.com; BOSE Quiet Comfort 15
are a favorite of frequent travelers for their noise-canceling technology, including an ear
cushion that creates an acoustical seal, US$330, bose.com; JABRA Revo Wireless use Bluetooth
technology to sync with your smartphone, US$250, jabra.com Eve Thomas

Healthy living comes naturally in
Scottsdale, a laid-back city devoted to fresh
food, spa days and the great outdoors.

Old Town Farmers’ Market
Start the day with a morning stroll
at this fast-growing farmers’ market.
Come with an appetite – vendors are
generous with samples – and discover
stalls full of organic local produce and
unique products, from handmade hot
tamales to artisan ice pops in strawberrybalsamic and lavender-lemonade flavors.
Afterward, you can check out the
neighborhood’s Western wear shops or
the more than 100 galleries in the nearby
Arts District. azcommunitymarkets.com

8 a.m.

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Expect more than just manicures
and mud masks at the hotel’s Well
& Being at Willow Stream Spa.
You’ll also find the wellness tools
of tomorrow, including TRX
suspension training, aerial yoga
and the Bod Pod, which uses airdisplacement plethysmography to
measure your body’s ratio of fat to
muscle. Resident specialists will help
you set health goals and stick to them
long after your visit with follow-up
calls and suggested lifestyle apps.
fairmont.com/scottsdale

1 p.m.

10 a.m.
Desert Botanical Garden Don’t let the
dry desert landscape fool you. Arizona is rich in
flora and fauna, and you can learn all about it at this
Phoenix-based botanical garden, which celebrates its
75th anniversary this year. Navigate the plants with
a docent or audio guide. Among the saguaro cacti
you’ll find stunning Chihuly glass sculptures, seasonal
live butterfly exhibits and classes on everything from
growing agave to tasting tequila. dbg.org

4 p.m.
Taliesin West After a bout of
pneumonia in the 1930s, Frank
Lloyd Wright made the arid
Sonoran Desert his new winter
home, as well as the site for his
studio and architecture school.
Tour the late starchitect’s iconic
550-acre estate and you’ll find
the campus still in use by former
apprentices and current students.
The latter even build their own
housing as a first project – they’ve
been called the “hippest dorms
in the world”– using local
materials such as stone and sand.
franklloydwright.org

Scottsdale Quarter This shopping district is home to
a West Elm and an Apple Store, but you’ll also find indie yoga
studios, spas and boutiques such as Verde’ Maison, which only
carries natural cosmetic lines like Ren and Dr. Hauschka. For a
meal that’s good for you without being too “granola” (think skinny
margaritas and bison burgers), make reservations at True Food
Kitchen, a trendy restaurant developed in partnership with holistic
health guru Dr. Andrew Weil. scottsdalequarter.coM Eve Thomas

Live the
experience
——

pag e 8 1

7 p.m.
Fairmont Magazine

29

photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

30

Fairmont Magazine

Ticket
to

R ide
A backstage pass to the
savoy and abbey road studios
means living like a legend –
at least for 24 hour s.

photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By Brett Schaenfield

the beatles – ringo starr, george
harrison, john lennon and paul
mccartney – rest between takes of
“She Loves You,” recorded in july,
1963, in abbey Road’s studio two

Fairmont Magazine

31

“This might

look familiar,” says Jonathan Smith, senior
vice president of studio operations, as he leads me into the client lounge in
Studio One. Anyone who has been to The Savoy’s legendary American Bar
will appreciate the studio’s Fairmont-led redesign, including art deco touches
like smoky glass tabletops and silver cocktail shakers.
Smith happily indulges all of my geekiest music questions, opens up
the closet in which The Beatles laid down a track (“They liked the acoustics”) and even lets me test out a microphone that John Lennon once
recorded with (“It’s still used today”).
Before I can tire Smith out, I’m ushered inside the hallowed space of

32

Fairmont Magazine

abbey
road is

a bit like St. Peter’s
in Rome is
to a Catholic.

Studio Two, the main recording studio used by The Beatles. I’m here to
watch a group of corporate clients record their own ensemble version of
“Help!” but before I know it I’m being handed a lyrics sheet and told I’ll
be singing along. I practice my best Liverpudlian under my breath. This
might be the closest thing to a big break I’m ever going to get.
After nibbling on canapés and sipping nerve-settling prosecco, we are
directed to our respective chairs and headphones. The thumbs-up is given
from the recording booth and vocal coach Kim Chandler talks us through
some basic breathing exercises. She’s worked with everyone from Sarah
Brightman to Ozzy Osbourne, so she’s nothing if not flexible.
There’s some nervous laughter as we attempt a first, slightly clumsy
version of the legendary song – most of us barely need to refer to the
lyrics – but Chandler keeps the mood light. As the track is broken up
into chorus, verses and harmonies, our group gradually gains confidence.
(A second glass of bubbly doesn’t hurt.)
Once our final segment is complete, there’s a round of applause and
we are treated to a studio playback of our rousing performance. The
evening ends on a happy note as professionally mixed copies of the track
are provided to everyone as a reminder that there may still be time to get
the old high school band back together.

While this

experience in itself would be more than
enough for most music fanatics, the pop idol lifestyle doesn’t end there.
Upon arriving at The Savoy I find another refined, recondite museum of
musical history. World famous artists might record at Abbey Road, but
this is where they spend the night.
After checking into a suite with a picturesque view of the Thames

here are two signs that you’ve arrived at the most
famous recording studio in the world, even before
you’ve reached the main entrance. The first is “the
shrine” – a wall covered in handwritten lyrics and
love notes from fans eager to pay homage to England’s
most renowned musical export, The Beatles. The
second is the zebra street crossing. The one made so
famous by four British lads in lockstep that, in 2010,
it was designated a British heritage site, alongside the country’s castles
and cathedrals. The one so popular it is available to view online via 24-hour
webcam. The one I find myself striding across slowly, arms swinging, much
to the delight of four giggling Japanese women on the opposite side of the
road, all lined up and waiting for their turn to pose.
Any twinge of embarrassment is tempered by my inner music nerd’s
exhilaration at stepping inside Abbey Road Studios, whose claim to fame
goes well beyond its association with the Fab Four and their eponymous
album. Name any of the most popular musical acts of the 20th and 21st
centuries and there’s a good chance they’ve spent time in one of the three
studios behind this white Georgian townhouse. Pink Floyd, U2, Oasis,
Radiohead, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Adele. Then there are the timeless
film scores recorded here – John Williams’s soundtracks to all but one
of the Star Wars movies and the Howard Shore-helmed Lord of the Rings
trilogy – as well as the music for the opening ceremonies of the London
2012 Olympic Games.
Suffice it to say, any self-respecting pop culture obsessive would see
the opportunity to visit Abbey Road Studios as less a visit than a pilgrimage. English rocker Chris Rea summed it up best in the 1997 documentary
The Abbey Road Story: “The honesty of it is, it’s a bit like St. Peter’s in
Rome is to a Catholic.”
The biggest difference between the Basilica and Abbey Road? Not
just anyone can get in to the studios.
Considering the fact that a simple tour is normally elusive to the
average (and fervent) fan, Abbey Road Studios’ partnership with
The Savoy – celebrating its 125th anniversary this year – becomes even
more remarkable. Through the Abbey Road Studios package, visitors get
a backstage pass and the chance to stay and play like a pop star: first by
touring the studios, then unwinding in the lap of luxury at a second
London landmark, The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, like so many
musicians have done before them, from Frank Sinatra to Rihanna.

(quite literally – Monet and Whistler painted similar vistas while in residence), I meet with Savoy archivist Susan Scott to get the lowdown on
the hotel’s famous musical guest list. Although she is adamant about
protecting the privacy of current clientele, Scott is happy to chat about
illustrious former guests as she takes me on a private tour.
Our first stop is the gilded space of the new Beaufort Bar, located just
off the Thames Foyer. A popular destination for the pre- and post-theater
crowd, she informs me that the bar itself stands on the hotel’s former
cabaret stage, which was graced in the 1920s by such luminaries as the
Savoy Orpheans dance band and pianist Carroll Gibbons. (Fortunately
for my guide, a quiet business meeting in a corner booth prevents me
from breaking out into my best Lindy Hop.)
We make our way down to The Savoy’s restored Edwardian Lancaster
Ballroom where, in 1925, the BBC aired the premiere British broadcast
of Rhapsody in Blue – live. Unknown to most is that only a few minutes
prior to the broadcast, George Gershwin was nowhere to be found.
“There was quite a bit of panic on the stage,” says Scott. “Imagine being
the musician who would have to ‘wing’ playing Gershwin’s part on the piano
during the broadcast!” Thankfully Gershwin, who’d simply been mingling
in the crowd, made it to the stage moments before they went to air.
Sensing that I’m still a bit heady from my recording experience at
Abbey Road (mainly because I won’t stop talking about it), Scott promises
me the next stop on the tour will be a bit more rock and roll.
“This is where The Beatles visited Bob Dylan when he was in residence,”
she explains as we step into… an alley behind the hotel. A bit less luxurious
than the ornate ballroom I was expecting.
Then it hits me. My guide smiles and nods. This is the spot where
Dylan and D.A. Pennebaker filmed what is widely considered the world’s
first-ever music video.
I can see it before me in black and white: “Subterranean Homesick
Blues,” the opener to Don’t Look Back, a documentary of Dylan’s 1965
tour of England. There’s a 24-year-old Dylan in an unforgettable singlecamera shot. He’s flipping through a series of handwritten cue cards,
made with help from fellow hotel guest and girlfriend Joan Baez. All
keywords from the song: basement, medicine, pavement... Amazing.
I notice that my host is slightly less enthusiastic about standing outside
in the brisk morning air, and she politely asks if I might continue to be
amazed inside.
Back in the Thames Foyer we sip our tea and nibble on shortbread,

1885
125 Years
of The Savoy
London’s first luxury hotel
has welcomed everyone from
George Bernard Shaw to Lady
Gaga. Here are just a few of
the historical highlights
– with many more to come.

34

Fairmont Magazine

grand opening

then it
hits me.This is

the spot where Bob Dylan
and D.A. Pennebaker
filmed the world’s
first-ever music video.
the genteel setting making for an interesting contrast to a list of some of
the hotel’s more unusual musical “firsts”: first celebrity flood (Elton John,
who went to make a phone call and left the bath tub running); first musical
contract signed on the back of a Savoy menu (Richard Tauber, an Austrian
opera singer); first pink-themed celebrity wedding (Duran Duran’s Nick
Rhodes’ 1984 marriage to Julie Anne Friedman).
“Duran Duran was here for two days in 2011 to film the video for their
single ‘Girl Panic!’” says Scott, so I pull it up on my phone. The clip follows
supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Helena Christensen, Eva
Herzigová and Yasmin Le Bon as they parade around the hotel acting the
parts of the band members, strutting in spots I visited barely an hour
earlier. It makes the walk back to my room surreal, to say the least.
Sufficiently saturated with enough musical trivia to craft a pub quiz,
I absent-mindedly start to sing a few lines from last night’s recording
session while waiting for the lift. I look up to find one of The Savoy’s
butlers walking toward me with a smile on his face.
“Not quite McCartney but not the worst we’ve heard around here,
sir,” he quips with a wink.
I smile sheepishly. Sure, he’s being incredibly polite, but I decide to
take him at his word and quietly hum a few more bars. Besides, what
would rock and roll be without its critics?

1899

Richard D’Oyly Carte debuts The Savoy
hotel, adjacent to his Savoy Theatre,
famous for its Gilbert &
Sullivan productions.

1920

1930
new look

hotel as muse

The hotel design keeps up
with the times, adding art
deco touches from checked
flooring to Kaspar, the hotel’s
lucky black cat statue.

Claude Monet visits
for months at a time
and paints now-famous
views of the Thames
from his room.

cocktail hour

Harry Craddock is
hired as head bartender,
eventually creating The
Savoy Cocktail Book,
still in print today. Other
legendary staff include
César Ritz and chef
Auguste Escoffier.

1945
return to glory

When the wartime
blackout ends in London,
The Savoy is the first
public building to turn
on its lights.

Concierge

London,
England
Stay This year The Savoy, A Fairmont

Managed Hotel, is celebrating its 125th
anniversary in style. Since opening, the
famed address has played host to icons
such as Maria Callas and Marilyn Monroe.
After a multimillion-dollar restoration in
2010, London’s legendary luxury hotel is
once again a home-away-from-home
for the stars (and anyone who wants star
treatment). fairmont.com/savoy-london

Dine Afternoon Tea at the Thames
Foyer is a must, with traditional homemade
scones and an impressive selection of cakes.

Head to the American Bar for art deco
design or try one of the Character Cocktails
at the Beaufort Bar – four concoctions
created as tributes to the hotel’s former
famous guests: Ernest Hemingway, Coco
Chanel, Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra.
Each cocktail is garnished tableside and
served in era-specific vintage glassware.

Do Inquire about the bespoke abbey

road studios package in advance. You can
also ask a hotel concierge about arranging
sightseeing tours, transfers to The O2 or
charters to popular riverside attractions
leaving from the hotel’s private Savoy Pier.

american bar
clockwise from top: a doorman at the entrance to abbey road studios; pop star jessie ware performs at a fairmont event; new
studio lounges inspired by the savoy’s art deco style; see more photos at everyonesanoriginal.com/fairmont-magazine

1999

2007

reno redo

The general manager rings a
bell to mark the official closing of
The Savoy – the first time in the
hotel’s history – in order to begin a
restoration of the entire building.

screen star

Scenes from the romantic comedy
Notting Hill are filmed in the hotel
– just one in a long line of movies
shot there including Goodbye,
Mr. Chips and The French
Lieutenant’s Woman.

reopening ceremony

On October 10 (10/10/10), The Savoy
officially reopens. Its first guest: actor,
writer and comedian Stephen Fry.
HRH Prince Charles is on hand to
mark the occasion with the unveiling
of a commemorative plaque.

2010

2014
birthday
party

The Savoy celebrates
125 years of
hotel history and
legendary hospitality
with a year of
celebrations as well
as special deals and
offers for guests.

Fairmont Magazine

35

fairmont baku occupies a
section of the iconic flame
towers, a trio of mixed-use
buildings, designed by londonbased architectural firm hok

an otherwise quiet dining room in Baku’s cobbled old city, Farhad
Khalilov and his son Bahram, deep into their third glass of shiraz, are
debating their preferred exclamation when clinking glasses. Farhad,
at 68 the elder statesman of contemporary Azerbaijani art, uses the
Russian “Opa!” perhaps a carryover from his
days roaming art circles in Soviet Moscow. Bahram, educated at New
York’s Pratt Institute and a youthful 43, prefers the Scandinavian
“Skål!”
Cultural ambiguities are common in this 23-year-old republic,
fought over and occupied for centuries by Persians, Arabs, Mongols
and Russians. In the past century alone, the national script has
switched from Arabic to Latin, Turkic, Cyrillic and back to the
present Turkic. But here in Baku, people are forging a new, vibrant
identity and there’s much to look forward to. “Cheers!” we all agree
as we drain our glasses.
Farhad, for one, is busy. The next morning he’ll depart for his
mountain dacha to work on a series of ethereal landscapes.
And in a week he’ll be back at his desk at the Union of Azerbaijan
Artists, which he’s chaired since the last days of the Soviet era.
It’s a big job. Azerbaijan’s nascent art industry is experiencing
unprecedented attention.
Bahram does his part from the grassroots. His AZgallery liaises
between Western and other buyers and Azerbaijani artists. His
office, inside the crenelated walls of the wind-blown old city, is
brilliantly placed for exploring other galleries that have grown up
around this UNESCO World Heritage Site, like the Centre of
Contemporary Art and Yay! Gallery, facing the sun-bleached 12thcentury Maiden Tower.
Azerbaijan has, perhaps more than any other former Soviet republic, enjoyed a robust
modern-art renaissance. When it gained its first, fleeting independence, in 1918, Azerbaijan
was the Muslim world’s first democratic state. In the mid-20th century, the Soviets nurtured
visual artists and sent legions to Moscow to study and exhibit.
In the 1970s, under the deified leader and trained architect Heydar Aliyev, artists began
looking outward to their cohorts in Europe, gleaning new ideas from creatives in Hungary
and Dresden and ultimately receiving political support. “Moscow played a big role in my
life,” Farhad rasps through his luxuriant moustache. “The grand artists, the underground
music concerts, the good times...”
Evidence of this rich artistic history is everywhere in the revitalized city center, its vast
beaux arts facades scrubbed to Monaco perfection, their interiors shrouded in hand-knotted
silk rugs and elaborate tapestries. If you can negotiate the wide boulevards, where C-Class
Mercedes are replacing the old Ladas at a remarkable rate, you’ll find a quirky street
sculpture for every bronze statue of a statesman. Plus, there are more art museums than
is plausible for a city of two million.
Baku is swiftly transforming from a Soviet outpost to a slick, fast-paced city with a
dazzling future. Just two decades ago the resident “skyscrapers” were an unambitious nine
stories. No sooner had the country gained its second independence, in 1991, than Baku
reignited its plans for a TV tower on the crest of a hill that made its 1,000-plus feet appear
more like the 2,700-pluss feet of Dubai’s Khalifa.
As any Bakili will tell you, though, the skyline’s most significant change is one you can
spot from your plane’s approach. The Flame Towers, housing the Fairmont Baku, emblazon
the city’s high ground with the national emblem. Called the Land of Fire, Azerbaijan got
its name from natural gas reserves so abundant that flames literally spew from fissures

clockwise from top left: The baku eye observation wheel stands 200 feet (60 meters) tall; The ateshgah Fire
temple is located in the suburb of surakhani where natural-gas-fueled fires once erupted spontaneously from
the ground; artist faig ahmed holds up "pixelate tradition," one of his works in handmade woolen carpet; the lobby
of fairmont baku, featuring "Unions," a work by farmboy fine arts

38

Fairmont Magazine

Artist
faig AHMED
My favorite placeâ&#x20AC;Ś Ateshgah fire temple. It
inspires me because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the most ancient
places here. It was constructed and added to
by different cultures in different ages, which
is proved by the Sanskrit writings on the walls
and other ancient symbols.

Fairmont Magazine

39

Artist
SITARA IBRAHIMOVA
My favorite placeâ&#x20AC;Ś Baku Boulevard. This is
probably the only place in the city where
you can just spend time alone with your
thoughts while walking in the park and
enjoying the sea.

clockwise from top left: Photographer Sitara Ibrahimova,
part of the Yarat art collective, at le CafĂŠ in the old city; view
of baku boulevard and the world's tallest flag at 230-by-115
feet (70-by-35 meters); the lobby of the fairmont baku features
a towering crystal chandelier; exterior of the heydar aliyev
cultural center; "Seven Beauties" teacup sculpture by Nail
Alakbarov near the old city wall; The rolled-tapestry-inspired
State museum of azerbaijani carpet and applied arts

40

Fairmont Magazine

in the earth – a phenomenon that likely inspired the Zoroastrians, or
fire-worshippers, of the first millennium BC. The buildings’ architects at
the London-based design firm HOK referenced this heritage with a trio of
torch-like structures that light up after dark with thousands of LED luminaires embedded in the buildings’ skin.
The contrast between the new Baku, with its sinuous, iconic architecture,
and the old, with its austere, 20th-century constructions, couldn’t be starker.
In 2012, the fearless architect Zaha Hadid unveiled her colossal cultural
center named for former president Heydar Aliyev, who brokered the
country’s independence (and fathered current leader Ilham Aliyev).
Otherworldly and startlingly white, it undulates like an arctic ice field.
Meanwhile, at the water’s edge, the recently opened national carpet museum
unfurls over a seafront park like Aladdin’s magic rug. Its Austrian architects,
Hoffmann-Janz, achieved what has become the city’s modus operandi: a
contemporary icon that references a millennium’s worth of cultural cues.
A further showpiece is the work of architect Jean Nouvel: the Museum of
Modern Art, where the vaulted white walls tell Azerbaijan’s story in works
by experimental artists of the past 70 years.
To really see how far the city’s art scene has come, take the free funicular
up to the Flame Towers’ base. Fairmont Baku, occupying the northernmost
building, developed its enviable art collection by acquiring work from local
ateliers and international galleries alike. The objective was to offer a cultural
experience to time-poor business travelers who might never have imagined
the depth of the regional art world.
“Our collection is an authentic way to connect to the city,” says Ariel
Grue Lee, business development director at Farmboy Fine Arts, an art
consultancy, based in Vancouver, Canada, that curated the Fairmont’s
collection. “Each piece has a specific story, which juxtaposes with the grand,
luxurious surfaces.”
Also evocative of Baku’s cultural shift is the gracious interior by Hirsch
Bedner Associates, both luxurious and rooted in the country’s artistic
traditions. In the seven-story lobby, a Czech-designed chandelier with
more than three miles of crystal-bead strands descends from a ceiling
plastered in platinum leaf. And yet at eye level are delicate works of art
that engage intimately with the viewer. Behind the reception desk, a vast
contemporary installation incorporates dozens of architectural brass finials,
or alems, found around the world, representing a coming-together of
cultures and tribes.
You will not escape the art here, even in the elevators. Hanging in a
corner of the lobby is Faig Ahmed’s “Restraint,” an ornamental “rug” that
dissolves into running drips of paint. And on a plinth in the mezzanine is
an irreverent bronze sculpture by Mahmud Rustamov. “That the collection
is eclectic is important as well,” says Grue Lee. “It isn’t decorative. It could
have been assembled over decades.”
Most of the artists in Farmboy’s stable are young “ones to watch,” but
even the more established names are affordable. Collectors should act fast,
too, because the profile of Azerbaijani artists is soaring. The most influential
advocate of art in Baku has to be First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who heads
the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, which supports the flourishing community.
Every year the government invests in painting and sculpture for state
buildings around the capital. And the non-profit Yarat Contemporary Art
Space, founded by artist Aida Mahmudova in 2011, pursues lucrative
sponsorships for exhibitions of Azerbaijani artists in venues like Yay!
Gallery and even the Venice Biennale. “There’s a lot of money going into
getting these artists exposed,” says Grue Lee, “and they have great people
promoting them.”
Fairmont Magazine

41

Left and Below: original artwork at the fairmont baku, including "10750
Pages" by Iranian artist Hadieh Shafie (made up of thousands of rolled-up
farsi texts) and "Untitled (three moons)" by Egyptian-canadian artist sherin
guriguis; Above: A room with a view of the city and caspian seafront at
Fairmont baku

O

n the top floor of a seven-story apartment block, equipped with
its first elevator five years ago, Huseyn Haqverdiyev wrestles with
a PC to scroll through digital images of his latest limestone
sculptures, commissioned for a new park to the city’s north. He is the son
of a successful propagandist and a veteran of the Baku arts scene who came
up in the 1980s, an era of political support for new directions in art.
“In the old days,” he says, “we were trapped. Artists got money for
creating portraits of Lenin, so that is what everyone wanted to do. Today
it is much more experimental.” His modernist abstract paintings, inspired
by the Russian avant-garde, hang in galleries and his epic mosaics can be
seen at British Petroleum’s Sangachal Terminal on the Caspian shore.
Between orders he targets every surface of his warren, stripped back to
the studs, with thick splashes of paint, inspired by the view – domes
and minarets in the middle distance and, beyond, the sea stretching out
toward Turkmenistan.
As recently as 2012, when he traveled to London to show in the Fly to
Baku exhibition at the Phillips de Pury gallery, Haqverdiyev couldn’t have
imagined how little time he’d have for house painting. Last year he was
the focus of an exhibition at Yay! and shortly thereafter he sold three works
to the collection at Fairmont Baku. When I ask him if he advises other
artists – like 36-year-old Emin Asgerov, who, in a studio down the hall,
paints vast, emotional canvases celebrated in exhibitions from Tashkent
to Turkey – he chortles and with a dramatic sweep of his hand declares:
“Of course,” like the godfather of this increasingly influential family.
He was taught well. His friend and mentor Farhad Khalilov spent
generations fighting for the freedoms enjoyed by his contemporaries.
Eventually Khalilov lived to see his boom. And as he offers me a lift back
to the hotel I notice he’s got the Land Rover to prove it. ­­

42

Fairmont Magazine

On the cover

Concierge

Baku,
Azerbaijan

Stay

Fairmont Baku, Flame
Towers, is an architectural monument,
art museum and hotel in one, located at
the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest point and visible for miles
(an added benefit: you'll never get lost). A
free funicular takes you from the waterfront
to the complex, which is equipped with an
ESPA spa facility set over two floors, and
indoor and outdoor pools with views
across the old city. For an exclusive lifestyle
hotel experience, a stay on the Fairmont
Gold floor promises special privileges and
extra-attentive service, designed to meet
the needs of the most discerning guest.

fairmont.com/baku

Dine Within the Fairmont Baku,

Artist
FARID RASULOV
My favorite placeâ&#x20AC;Ś The old city. Poets and writers are often
inspired by its timeless beauty. Artists have been dwelling in
this area for years. Some are so fortunate as to own a studio
amidst ancient minarets and mosques. The atmosphere here
draws you in right away and infuses you with creative energy.
As I wander these streets, I become more and more aware of
who I am: an artist and a dreamer.

we photographed artist Farid Rasulov in his
work "Carpet interior." The installation, a
room papered entirely in printed textiles, had
just returned to baku from the 2013 Venice
Biennale. much to our surprise, Rasulov, who
also designs a clothing line called Chelebi
(a blazer from the collection is pictured,
right), offered to fashion a suit from the
same material. What else could we say, but
"Yes, Please!" See the installation as it is being
constructed and more images of baku at
everyonesanoriginal.com/fairmont-magazine

fashionable Bakili congregate at Alov
Steakhouse, a contemporary dining room
with a southwestern American theme and
an open kitchen headed by chef Orkan
Mukhtarov. They also head to the Alov
Jazz Bar, which features live music every
evening (Baku is a regional center for jazz),
along with light bites and classic cocktails.
Designers Hirsch Bedner Associates kitted
out the Nur Lounge with a bar of textured
champagne glass and a cutting-edge
M. Liminal grand piano by Fazioli.

Do Meander through the old city to

shop for fine carpets, silk scarves and shaggy
lambskin hats, a Bakili tradition. Or drive
southwest to Gobustan, where pre-historic
peoples embellished their environment with
a rich cache of petroglyphs, discovered by
quarry workers in the 1930s.

Fairmont Magazine

43

photo: andrew moore

44

Fairmont Magazine

book excerpt

Empress
of the
Night
Destination
Reading
In partnership with
Penguin Random House

She throws herself into work. One can be too

successful, too bright, too visionary. In European games, power
is thrown on the apothecaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scales. If they do not balance,
trouble ensues. Russian victories have made the Prussians
uneasy and the Austrians frantic. The coded dispatches sent
from court to court demand curtailing Russian gluttony.
From the novel by Eva Stachniak â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photos by Andrew Moore & Cedric Angeles

Fairmont Magazine

45

H

ow much would she give up for not fueling Turkish
wrath?
She is tempted to give up nothing. For months,
she pores over maps, adds and subtracts the numbers.
How much does a war cost? How much does it bring
in return? These are not crass calculations. Prussia
and Austria want chunks of Poland. The Empress of
Russia can help herself to her share, too. A lion’s share, Frederick of Prussia
tempts. Far greater than what we get.
It’s a hard bargain. Isn’t Poland hers already? Isn’t Stanislav doing what
she instructs him to?
How much shall she pay for peace? She cannot wage two wars, can she?
Giving up chunks of Poland? Is it worth it? What if she stalls? Refuses?
The Empire is like an old quilt in need of constant tending. As new
patches are added, old ones thin and tear.
In the Urals, a Yaik Cossack is gathering
disgruntled mine workers and runaway serfs.
They have just attacked yet another estate.
Robbed the cellars, stole the gold and silver and
ran away. At the foundling hospitals, the mortality rate is 99 percent. Doctors give her long
lectures on the balance of humors and declare
the medical art helpless against the immoral
habits of the poor. Paul, her son, has reached
the age of majority and hints that Maria Theresa
is teaching her son and heir how to rule.
The throne is a lonely place.
From Gatchina, Grigory Orlov is sending
emissaries. Brothers, cousins, even his old
servants, whose toothless mouths blend
pleas and spit. Grigory wants to see her, his
beloved matushka, the only joy of his life,
one last time. Only one. How can she deny it to
him after all that has joined them? How can she
be so cruel?
In her inner rooms, the timid lover’s voice
quivers. Vasilchikov’s body gives off a whiff of stale cheese. He hasn’t seen
her for three full days. She has not replied to his latest question. She walked
away while he was still speaking.
The memory of his touch grows faint and fleeting. The lover’s hour is
for caresses not accusations.
My mistake, my fault, she thinks of him. Made of desperation.
Should she not have listened to Panin? Should she have sent for
him, instead?
He, Potemkin, is at the Turkish front. There is nothing they say about
him that she doesn’t know already. Nature has made Grisha a Russian peasant,
and he won’t ever change. He fears bad omens. Trails after charlatans and
tricksters. Chews on raw turnips. He’s moody. Indolent. Slovenly. Vain.
So why does he make friends faster than kvass breeds flies?
Her desk is piled high. Letters, proposals, petitions, drafts of treaties
she needs to analyze and amend. Reports on the dyeing of silk, the feasibility
of building a china manufactory, summaries of books she has no time to
read. Five secretaries work around the clock and yet the tidal wave of papers
does not diminish. “Still think you are better than me, Catherine?” the late
Empress’s voice mocks. “That you can do it all alone?”

46

Fairmont Magazine

Lieutenant Potemkin appears at court unannounced. He throws himself
at her feet, like the thespian he has always been. Her ladies-in-waiting
scamper away, lean against the walls, blend into tapestries on which nymphs
escape their pursuers, hunters aim arrows at giant stags.
A lean, pale face. A black patch over his left eye. A Cyclops, she recalls
Grigory Orlov’s old taunt. Blacksmiths, she has since learned, cover one
eye to minimize the power of flying sparks to blind them.
The same cleft chin, full lips. No longer a boy but a man toughened
by hardships. Attacked and outnumbered by the enemy, he was the hero of
the victory.
Still in love with her after twelve long years.
You can see my zeal. You will never regret your choice. I am Your Imperial
Majesty’s subject and slave.
Let it be, she thinks. I won’t fight it anymore. In her mind, for some time
now, she has been making amends to the timid
lover. An estate, a generous pension, a few
trinkets from her latest Parisian shipment. How
long will it take to move Vasilchikov’s things
out? A day? Then another day for Grisha
to move in. She already has her first gift to him:
a promotion.
The simplicity of these arrangements tickles
like an ostrich feather.
“Stand up, Lieutenant-General Potemkin,”
she orders. “Your Empress is extremely grateful
for all you have done for Russia. You are very,
very dear to her heart.”
He rises with awkwardness, which amuses
her greatly, and gives her a pained look. “Why
is my Sovereign dismissing me?” he asks.
“Dismissing you?” Has she not just given
him a sign? Could it be that she has not been
clear enough? But deep inside her, she knows
that he has read her thoughts and found
them wanting.
His good eye doesn’t let go of her.
He shakes his auburn hair. He abhors coyness. He doesn’t care about
promotions, but now that his Empress has just given him one, he is going
back to the south to earn the honor. He thanks God Almighty that the
peace treaty with the Ottoman Porte has not yet been signed. That there
are still skirmishes on the border.
Her shoe grinds against the carpet. There will be a hole there, afterward,
matching the size of her heel.
Grisha Potemkin does not flinch against her anger. His last words
to her before he leaves are: “Step on me, obliterate me, or take note of
my love.”
You won’t think of him, Catherine orders herself. It is that simple.
Not easy, perhaps, but it can be done. There is her son’s wedding to
plan and arrange. Guests to receive. To dazzle with how much she has
achieved already.
If this is not enough of a distraction, in the Urals, the Yaik Cossack
declares himself Peter III. “With the help of a faithful servant I’ve escaped
my wife’s murderous hands,” he announces, clearly with someone’s expert
help. “I’ve come back to free my people from this sinful German usurper.
I’ve come to put my son on the throne that is rightfully his.”

photos: cedric angeles

book excerpt

Fairmont Magazine

47

Empress of the Night

About the author

Eva Stachniak was born in Wrocław,
Poland. She moved to Canada in 1981
and has worked for Radio Canada
International and Sheridan College,
where she taught English and humanities. Her debut novel, Necessary Lies, won
the Books in Canada First Novel Award
in 2000. Her first novel of Catherine the
Great, The Winter Palace, was included
in The Washington Post’s 2011 list of
most notable fiction. Stachniak lives in
Toronto, where she is at work on her
next novel. evastachniak.com
Destination Reading

There is nothing quite like reading
a book to get excited about an upcoming
trip, or to immerse yourself in a destination once you’re there. In partnership
with Penguin Random House, Fairmont
has built a carefully curated reading list
inspired by its hotels and resorts around
the globe. Start Empress of the Night (you
can order titles right from the website)
and you’ll be ready for a visit to Moscow,
Russia, set to welcome a Fairmont in
2016. fairmont.com/randomhouse

48

Fairmont Magazine

left: the opera house in irkutsk, the
“paris of siberia”; below: members of
the bolshoi ballet warm up before a
performance; previous spread: a guard
at the tomb of the unknown soldier by
the kremlin wall; saint basil’s cathedral,
a church turned museum in red square;
Opening spread: rotari’s gallery in the
peterhof grand palace, sometimes known
as the “russian versailles”

In this historical
novel from Penguin
Random House,
Catherine the Great
muses on her life,
her relentless battle
between love and
power, the country
she brought into the
glorious new century, and the bodies
left in her wake. By the end of her life,
she had accomplished more than virtually any other woman in history. She
built and grew the Romanov empire,
amassed a vast fortune of art and land,
and controlled an unruly and conniving
court. Now, in a voice both indelible
and intimate, she reflects on the decisions that gained her the world and
brought her enemies to their knees.
randomhouse.com, randomhouse.ca

QI_fairmont_middle_east_1_080420142.pdf

1

4/8/14

5:15 PM

Fa i r m o n t M a g a z i n e

De s ig n
Spec i a l
Two hotel redesigns on either side of the
Pacific Ocean have much in common. First
and foremost, the desire to bring guests into
the 21st century while respecting – and
highlighting – each property’s rich history.

01

Fairmont Singapore

52

Discover a thoroughly modern refreshment that draws
inspiration from five key elements of Singaporean culture.

02

Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa

(P)

(P)

58

Let your senses guide you through the redesign of this
resort in California wine country.

52

Fairmont Magazine

PART

De s ign
Sp ecial

01

Fairmont

singapore

De s i g n
Sp ec i al

P A R T 01
singapore

Pa s t M e e t s P r e s e n c e
A modern mosaic comes to life at Fairmont Singapore,
where renovations take five distinctly local cues from the
city-state’s complex culture.
By Andrew Braithwaite

For centuries, Singapore remained a remote jungle settlement at
the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Then, in the age of
seafaring, it transformed into a key battlefield for global
empire-builders, passing from hand to colonial hand by
Siamese, Javanese, Portuguese, Dutch and British
rulers until its independence – merdeka, in the
Malay language – in 1965. The Singapore of
today is a dense blend of cultural influences, a
tropical rainforest turned concrete jungle. Designed
by I.M. Pei and opened in 1986 between Marina Bay
and the downtown core, Fairmont Singapore stands at the
crossroads of this colorful, complex nation. But as Singapore’s

cityscape evolved at lightning speed, so too did the lifestyles
of hotel guests, highlighting the need for renovations that
would both cement the hotel in the modern world and
pay tribute to the city’s unique history and population.
To strike the right balance, Fairmont engaged the
local teams of two international design firms
– Engstrom Design Group (EDG) and Hirsch
Bedner Associates (HBA) – to remake the hotel
lobby, refresh 371 guest rooms and create Anti:dote,
a chic new cocktail bar. The result is a redesign that
draws authentic inspiration from five key elements of
Singaporean culture.

traditional peranakan tile

01
Peranakan Craft
Peranakan is the name for the centuries-old ethnic mix of
colonial Chinese and Malay peoples, and the visual motifs of
traditional Peranakan craftwork – ornate, complicated patterns
normally seen on textiles and clay tiles – dot many of the hotel’s
renovated surfaces, from carpets to curtain sheers. “We wanted
to reinterpret Peranakan patterns in a modern, luxurious way,”
says Michael Goodman, EDG’s senior director for Asia, whose
studio designed the new bar and lobby. Anti:dote shows off
Peranakan patterns in the black concrete floors and via doublelayered etching along the glass-tiled countertop, while a modern
chandelier by Czech lighting design studio Lasvit renders
traditional diamond-patterned motifs by alternating more
than 26,000 hanging amber and transparent borosilicate bars.

Bl ack & White Bunga lows
Singapore’s era of British colonial rule remains visible in heritage architecture across the city, particularly in the so-called “black-and-white”
style of bungalow built to house colonial families. HBA added a touch
of history to Fairmont Singapore’s guestrooms by incorporating wooden,
plantation-style window shutters, painted black and operable by a traditional rod switch. “It’s rare to see new examples of the black-and-white
style in Singapore today,” says Sheila Cayetano, HBA’s lead designer on
their renovation of the guest rooms and corridors. The firm also partnered
with a young Singaporean artist, Andre Tan, who created three editions
of canvas pop art prints to hang above the headboards. The black-andwhite pieces incorporate images of key local colonial-era buildings, such
as the Old Parliament House and the Fullerton Building.

02

03
Forces of Nature
Nicknamed “City in a Garden,” Singapore
takes its connection to nature seriously, with
a city-wide focus on integrating the environment into urban areas. Find a natural touch
in the chandelier created by Lasvit for the
main lobby. Titled “Playing with Wind,”
the piece, done by designer Petra Dickova,
features 800 hand-blown glass “bubbles”
suspended chaotically on spindly stainless steel branches, evoking what Lasvit
calls “the lightness and elusiveness of the
wind.” This fixture hovers next to a wall that
EDG covered with wooden “fins,” pitched at
angles to mimic tree branches. In Anti:dote,
where several walls were removed to introduce more natural light, Canadian sculptor
Ken Gangbar covered a matte-black wall
with a dense, angular swath of protruding
white marble discs. “From afar, it looks like
wind blowing through a field of grass,” says
EDG’s Goodman.

almost half the city is made up of green space

Festive Color
The centerpiece of the new lobby reflects Singapore’s colorful cultural
fusion. Swiss artist Claudia Caviezel tapped into the bright colors that
dot this city with a huge, 25-by-15-foot print on canvas. Mounted behind the check-in desk, the work is an explosion of crimson, violet and
aquamarine – hues that one might see in the Chinese lanterns of the
Mid-Autumn festival, the airborne powder of the Hindu Holi festival
in Little India or a fireworks display over Marina Bay. “We probably
went through 15 sketches with Claudia before we really felt like the
piece expressed that mix of cultures,” says Goodman of the print,
which also features leaves, vines, insects and snakes hidden among the
intense clash of colors.

paper lanterns hang in singapore’s chinatown

05
Modern Skyline
With the city’s historic past and lush, colorful present
accounted for, Fairmont nods to Singapore’s future with
two murals mounted behind the concierge and bell desks.
In an abstract mosaic of black and white porcelain tiles,
the pattern suggests “a multitude of skyscrapers,” says
Goodman of EDG, expressing the relentless pace of
modern building that continues to transform Singapore
into a 21st-century commercial capital. He continues:
“We have a particularly exceptional skyline here, so it’s
something we wanted to acknowledge.” With a fresh new
interior for I.M. Pei’s own contribution to the concrete
jungle, Fairmont Singapore is poised to retain its place
of importance on the horizon.

The lobby of The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa is
the property’s beating heart. It was designed to charm the
senses. From the inviting caress of its majestic leather armchairs, the fire in its limestone fireplace tickles the skin with
warm licks of air; a swirl and sip of Stag’s Leap S.L.V cab
sauv suggests blackberry bushes in late summer and sends
silky tannins dancing across the tongue; and throughout
the grand space, between Spanish Mission-style archways,
there’s the gentle buzz of like-minded visitors comparing
tasting notes at the hotel’s nightly wine hour.
Everything that taste, touch, sight, smell and sound
might desire, it turns out, is right here within this room. So
when it came time to renovate the Inn last year, there was
no doubt that this particular space would play a leading
role. The challenge was in refreshing the beloved gathering
place without altering its classic, sensory appeal.
Sonoma is often thought of as the unpretentious side

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of California Wine Country, and any perceptive guest wandering the pathways and corridors of the Fairmont will feel
this comfortable charm, as well as a strong pull between
past and future. For hundreds of years the area has attracted
visitors in search of its healing thermal waters, leading to
the first hotel established on the grounds, built by H.E. Boyes
in 1900.
Since then, the property has lived many lives, reinventing
itself after fires (however extensive the renovations, its iconic
water tower remains), surviving the Great Depression and
serving as an R&R site for the Navy during WWII.
The current Mission Inn is composed of more than a
dozen separate buildings – including a 40,000-square-foot
spa still fed by the warm, mineral-rich waters. In 2013,
Historic Hotels of America named the Inn to its prestigious
register of properties that have “faithfully maintained their
authenticity, sense of place and architectural integrity.”

01
sight
So when Fairmont hired two California design
firms to update the buildings – BraytonHughes
Design Studios of San Francisco began work on guest
and meeting rooms in 2011 and L.A.’s KNA Design
tackled the lobby and connected dining spaces starting in 2012 – the designers had a tall order.
“Our job was to update these spaces without
reinventing them,” explains KNA principal Kirk
Nix. The result is a minimalist approach to modernization, with 21st-century touches overlaying
the hotel’s historic character. “We were always
mindful of maintaining that California-Spanish
feel wherever possible,” says Rachel Fischbach of
BraytonHughes.
The lobby, says Nix, “is where every visit begins
and ends, so we treated it a bit like the hotel’s living
room.” The goal, he explains, was to “animate
the space,” with its broad floor plan and dramatically high, wood-beamed ceiling providing an
ideal canvas.
An open front porch was glassed in so that the
concierge desk could be moved next to the entryway
and out of the room’s center, a gentle suggestion
that the room is for much more than checking in
and out. In its place: soft chairs and sofas by L.A.based A. Rudin, arranged in intimate clusters to
further draw in guests. Two taller communal tables,
set beneath rustic iron-and-glass lighting pendants
by Holly Hunt, frame the room and encourage
conversation between strangers. “We wanted people
to linger, to say ‘Sure, I’ll have that second glass of
Russian River Pinot because I’m having a good
time,’” says Nix.
That grand old limestone hearth required a bit
of sandblasting and a fresh coat of paint and now
the hotel staff keeps the fire stoked behind a new
screen, an iron gate dotted with colorful, cross-cut
geodes that was designed by metal artist Philip
Nimmo. To complete the refresh, KNA commissioned British-born artist John Rose to design an
abstract art showpiece for atop the mantel:
“Vibrations,” a bright red fluid form inspired by
strands of DNA (pictured left).
“It’s eye candy,” says Nix. “A bit of bling, for
lack of a better word.” Along with the striking
backdrop for the concierge desk – a sparkling cacophony of copper and terra cotta-glazed porcelain
tile – the lobby provides both a warm welcome and
a lasting impression.
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De s i g n
Sp ec i al

P A R T 02
sonoma

02
smell
Set to the right of the fireplace is an entirely new
addition: the wine bar 38º North. Its name is a reference to the 38th parallel that runs through Sonoma
Valley as well as other global wine regions, including
Calabria in Italy and Alicante in Spain. It’s a clever
way of linking the evolving region (and the property)
to the world at large.
While the wine bar’s amenities are thoroughly
modern – high-tech wine coolers deliver fresh bythe-glass pours from some 50 labels (including
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Screaming
Eagle) – the room succeeds in feeling imbued with
history. The flooring is a marriage of old-new: An
engineered European oak hardwood features zigzag
patterns in two dark tones of hard-wax oil treatment,
but the fine-sawn finish also gives the surface underfoot a distressed feel normally earned with age.
Hovering above the black granite bar is a
long, glass-and-iron chandelier, its heavy metal
and warm light suggesting a candelabra, a contemporary take on something you might see in a Spanish
Gothic tavern.

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03
touch

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De s i g n
Sp ec i al

04
taste
Even the menu at 38º North reflects a modern
twist on tradition, with gourmet versions of comfort
food and bar snacks. Order the Grown-Up
Mac and Cheese and you’ll be rewarded with
pasta shells spiked with morsels of lobster, fragrant
black truffles and Fontina from the Italian Alps.
A heartier appetite receives its reward at Santé,
the hotel’s flagship for fine dining and a sensory
journey unto itself. The Michelin-rated, prerenovation Santé struck Nix as a space that didn’t
quite reflect the ambitions of its kitchen. “It felt like
a place where you could just as easily be serving breakfast,” says Nix, “but Santé is only open for dinner. So
we tried to make it a little more dramatic.”
Cinematic lighting sets the tone as you enter. A
custom LED chandelier composed of five slender rings
finished in hand-rubbed bronze hovers overhead.
LEDs also dot the wall-length wine cooler, illuminating bottles visible inside this tempered glass box.
“Guests enjoy watching you pull out the exact
bottle they’re going to drink that night,” says
sommelier Marc Irving. He was brought in from
Las Vegas to rebuild the wine list and ended up adding
45 new labels to the California-focused cellar.
With the theatrical new lighting in place, KNA
deepened the tone of the walls so that the focus was
squarely on chef de cuisine Andrew Cain’s works of
culinary artistry, exhibited atop the white tablecloths
for diners to admire before their first bite.
In Sonoma, there is always something fighting for
your attention: the smell of lavender, the sun setting
over the vineyards. The trick to enjoying it all is balance. In that way, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn
& Spa is the perfect base for exploring the region, for
enjoying a feast of the senses – even before you have
left the lobby.

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P A R T 02
sonoma

05
sound

Concierge

Sonoma, USA
Stay Tempt your senses in California

wine country at The Fairmont Sonoma
Mission Inn & Spa. The historic property
originally attracted visitors for its natural
mineral hot springs, which still feed the
resort’s pools and the 40,000-squarefoot (3,700-square-meter) Willow Stream
Spa. Discover a mix of minimalist design
and mission-style architecture in recently
renovated rooms, Wine Country suites
and common areas perfect for socializing.

fairmont.com/sonoma

Dine For haute bar snacks and
50 different wines by the glass, take a seat
at 38˚North in a lounge just off the main
lobby. Book a table at Santé Restaurant for
chef Andrew Cain’s fine dining menu built
around locally sourced, seasonal cuisine.

Do In addition to wine tastings at the

Inn, ask the concierge for information about
regional wine tours and for a map to the
best vineyards in Sonoma (and neighboring
Napa Valley).
Ask the concierge about guided hikes and
bicycle rides starting off from the property,
as well as playing golf on the resort’s
championship 18-hole course.

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photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ti m e
Tra v e l

A journey along the historic watchmaking trail

sheds light on the tiny miracles of micro-engineering that make
Switzerlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s timepieces the best in the world.

ir

spring

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By Carol Besler â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Photos by Joss McKinley

balance

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A watchmaker and his work at Montblancâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s institut Minerva de recherche en haute horlogery in villeret, Switzerland

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photo: victor go (chillon castle)

An Horology

lesson in the workshop of
Lionel Meylan’s Swiss atelier begins with the following advice: “A watchmaker
needs four things: good eyes, good nerves, the patience of a saint and,” Meylan
concludes, a twinkle in his eye, “good knees.”
True to this insight, my worktable consists of a pair of pin-tipped tweezers,
a set of tiny screwdrivers and the impossibly miniscule components required
to assemble a movement. A watchmaker, it seems, can spend as much time
under his desk as at it. The trick, I discover, is a light touch.
On this bright summer’s day, when most visitors to Montreux are taking
in the larger-than-life splendor of Lake Geneva and the magnitude of the
Alps, the irony of peering at miniature objects through a loupe is not lost on
me. Yet, for anyone drawn to the artisan nature of these tiny mechanisms,
there is no more beautiful sight.
For centuries, tourists have come to this swath of glamorous shoreline –
known as the Swiss Riviera – in search of pleasure. The Swiss are as renowned
for their excellence in the art of hospitality as they are in the art of watchmaking,
and Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, a local landmark and my home base for
this trip, embodies the area’s luxurious pedigree.
Built during the Belle Epoque as an authentic resort in the old-Europe
sense, it was a place where guests stayed for several weeks or months, hiking
the Alps’ glittering glaciers by day and dancing in its glittering ballrooms by
night. (Indeed, its corridors retain their original 13-foot width, allowing two
women in hoop-skirted gowns to pass without touching.)
I am not here for this particular combination of action and glorious inaction, however, but for a special journey into the heartland of Switzerland’s
most famous export – mechanical timepieces.
My first stop, Meylan’s workshop, is designed to gain a further appreciation
for the precise choreography of a movement, the watch’s counting mechanism.
Le Montreux Palace recently partnered with Meylan in response to requests
from guests who wanted to learn more about the horology process. Since a
good timepiece can easily cost six figures, it’s natural for buyers to wonder
what’s under the hood.
Meylan’s workshop offers a glimpse into the mystery. Warning: You really
do need the patience of a saint. At one point I mangle the hairspring, the heart
of the mechanical movement, which, together with the balance wheel, literally
makes it tick. Fortunately I am working on a “practice” device, and Meylan
patiently guides me through the process a second time with a new spring.
We are in the midst of what is widely referred to as the second golden age
of watchmaking, the first being roughly between 1780 and 1870, when all of
the devices of mechanical timekeeping were invented: chronograph, tourbillon,
minute repeater (conceived in pre-electricity days to signal the time at night),
perpetual calendar, annual calendar. All of them start with the crucial hairspring and balance wheel, known together as the escapement.
The greatest challenge to mechanical watchmaking came in the 1970s and
’80s when quartz watches, driven by a small battery and tiny crystal, nearly
killed the craft. Quartz’s low cost and undeniable accuracy made watches
more accessible than ever. In the late ’90s, however, a resurgence of interest
in the old-fashioned gear-train method of telling time inspired
watchmakers to tinker with and reinterpret the traditional Clockwise from top left:
horology lesson at meylan’s;
mechanisms. This reinvigoration of the craft has resulted in a montblanc craftsman bevels
more innovations in mechanical watchmaking over the past a tourbillon Bridge; parts and
fittings; the 12th-century
20 years than in the previous 50.
chillon castle on lake geneva

e
dg

tourbi

movem

br
llon

i

en

t

We are in the midst of what is

widely referred to as the second golden
age of watchmaking.

f ittings

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photo: Carol Besler (Gentian)

nt

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ge

M

y suite at Fairmont Le Montreux Palace is called Quincy Jones,
after the music impresario who has paid many a visit to this
quiet sanctuary during Montreux’s renowned annual jazz festival. The expansive room features two terraces, one facing the
sunrise in the east, the other the sunset in the west.
I consider this poignant symbol of time as I set off by car to the Swiss Jura,
an hour and a half northwest, near the French border. On my approach, the
mountains rise up around me as I travel through the green pastures and sleepy
mountain villages where watchmaking took hold in the 18th century.
Local farmers, seeking occupation during the long winter months, manned
the cottage industry. (Their wives, meanwhile, tatted lace.) The activity
gradually migrated to the nearby town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, where, after
the entire village burned down in 1794, the Swiss, with their seemingly inborn
sense of exactitude, decided to rebuild the town entirely around the craft.
They designed the streets in a grid formation (an anomaly at that time in
Europe), in parallel tiers that climb a mountain slope, each street slightly
higher than the last, following the angle of the sun as it rose. These terraces
allowed the maximum amount of light to penetrate every building for the
maximum amount of time – a watchmaker needs good eyes, after all, and
sunlight in the pre-electrical age was essential.
Inside, these spaces contained living quarters alongside workshops, each
specializing in a particular part: hands, dials, bracelets, movement components.
The parts were gathered by an établisseur who issued the orders and then
assembled the basic movement in his own atelier.
So successful was this early assembly-line system that nearby Le Locle was
later redesigned the same way. By 1915, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle
made half the world’s watches. Compare that with today: While the region
now produces only around three percent of the world’s watches, that small
portion represents 50 percent of total production value. Many of world’s elite
brands, including Cartier, Montblanc, TAG Heuer, Ulysse Nardin and Corum,
are located here in modern manufactures.
In 2009, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle were recognized as UNESCOprotected heritage sites because of this unique industrial-residential integration.
If you venture to the 14th floor of the Espacité tower in La Chaux-de-Fonds,
you can see a panoramic view of the sloping grid. While some of the buildings
are still used as workshops, most are luxurious apartments, with elaborate
gardens filling the gaps between rows.
And despite their proto-industrial origins, the buildings incorporate the
beautiful flourishes of the Swiss version of Art Nouveau. Style Sapin, or “fir-tree
style,” gives a nod to the majestic pine trees that cover the slopes of the Jura
and which figure into the decorative motifs of the buildings’ twirling wroughtiron stairwells and the etched glass that punctuates doorways.
Interspersed among the apartment blocks are beautiful villas, the former
residences of the établisseurs and factory owners. I tour one of them, the Villa
Turque. Designed by Le Corbusier, who was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds and
whose father was a watch engraver and enamelist, the villa is now owned by
the watch brand Ebel, who maintains it for visiting executives and company
events. It is a breathtaking example of Le Corbusier’s form-follows-function
philosophy. So exacting are the proportions, it could be considered the bricksand-mortar embodiment of the Swiss watchmaking ethos.
I experience another example of Swiss precision in the evening at Fairmont
Le Montreux Palace’s Willow Stream Spa, where my entire
body is thoroughly scrubbed and polished using a pumice Clockwise from top left: flower
stems are used as polishing tools;
combined with that most emblematic example of Swiss watchmaking implements resemble
flora, edelweiss (or “cloud flower,” as the locals poetically those of a century ago; style sapin
doorway at Fairmont le montreux
refer to it because of its delicate, silvery white leaves).
palace; antique minerva dial

One craftsman does the

final polish using an unusual
tool, the stem of a gentian flower.

a

l

di

photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

ch
stopwat

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Concierge

Montreux,
Switzerland
Stay Fairmont Le Montreux

Palace is a stately wonder on the shore of
Lake Geneva. Freddie Mercury lived here;
so did Vladimir Nabokov. For a special experience, book the Quincy Jones Suite with
east- and west-facing private terraces from
which you can catch both the sunrise and the
sunset. fairmont.com/montreux

Dine La Brasserie du Palace

is decorated in the Belle Epoque style, in
keeping with the architecture of the hotel
itself. The menu features a combination of
authentic Parisian brasserie dishes and Swiss
specialties, including fresh perch from Lake
Geneva and traditional Alsatian choucroute.

Afterward, I dine in La Brasserie du Palace on fresh perch fillets caught
that day in Lake Geneva, which, from my table, appears inky-black in the
moonlight. There should be a ceremony for this. A celebration of the fish, or
perhaps of the fishermen who, like clockwork, rise before dawn to take their
boats out onto the lake. I see them at sunrise from the east terrace of the
Quincy Jones Suite.

I

return the following day to La Chaux-de-Fonds to tour the Musée
International d’Horlogerie. The museum’s 4,000 watches and wall clocks,
arranged in sequence, span the entire history of movement development.
The early pieces are large and awkward. Over time they become smaller and
less decorative, but vastly more complex.
This historic visit sets the tone for the final stop on my journey: the
Montblanc-owned Institut Minerva de Recherche en Haute Horlogerie. While
most watch manufactures are now highly automated, using robotic machines
to punch out parts to the tenth of a micron, Minerva continues to produce all
of its components by hand.
Here, highly skilled craftsmen fashion only a few hundred timepieces a
year, using customized tools based on those from centuries past. Each watch
is slightly different and therefore custom. Most are presold to collectors.
I look on as one craftsman puts the final polish on a tourbillon bridge
using an unusual tool, the stem of the gentian flower, which grows in the
nearby mountain pastures. Its softness and flexibility allow it to reach places
no automated polishing machine could ever go. I peer over the shoulder of
another craftsman manning a kind of roller, and see that he is, in fact, stretching
and coiling long wires into hairsprings for the movements.
Very few manufactures make their own hairsprings; instead they order
them now from automated factories that specialize in this component. I flush
to witness this painstaking process in action, remembering the botched spring
from my own horology experiment.
Alone in the car on my return to Montreux, it’s wonderful to think of the
artisans of this city making a hairspring the same way for centuries – and
creating the pieces that measured the seconds, hours and years of their lifetimes
as today’s craftsmen are fashioning the metronomes of ours. It’s as though,
in their pursuit of the most precise and elegant way to tell time, Swiss watchmakers have made it stand still. ­­

Restaurant La Cheminée, located in a
historic former farmhouse in La Chaux-deFonds that was built in 1703, has a romantic
dining room where regional dishes, including
locally raised meat, are prepared over an open
grill. lacheminee.ch

Do Participate in the various steps

of disassembling and assembling a
watch movement as part of The Meylan
Watchmaking Experience, under the
supervision of Lionel, Yannick or Julien
Meylan, resident father-and-sons watch­
makers located in the town of Vevey. Visits
are by appointment only, so book your experience through the concierge at Fairmont
Le Montreux Palace. lionel-meylan.ch
Walking tours of La Chaux-de-Fonds start
at the Espacité tower, in the center of the city.
One focuses on the symbiosis of watchmaking and town planning. Another follows the
Le Corbusier Trail to the architect’s
famous designs. There is also a tour focusing
on Style Sapin, the art nouveau movement
of the region. La Chaux-de-Fonds also
features the world’s largest watch museum, Le Musée International d’Horlogerie.

chaux-de-fonds.ch
Fairmont Le Montreux Palace

SECOND HOME

BLISS

BY THE

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OWN A PIECE OF

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in North America.”
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is your everyday standard.
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Call to learn more about second home ownership. 415.292.1000
900 North Point Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 | FairmontAtGhirardelli.com

Fully flat beds for your restful
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Fly the difference
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Hidden Gem

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
—
In the late 1800s, tourists flocked to Banff
National Park in Canada for its stunning scenery –
and the Canadian Pacific transcontinental railway
helped get them there. The park’s crown jewel,
dubbed Emerald Lake by railway workers, was
later renamed Lake Louise after Queen Victoria’s
fourth daughter. The first hotel on its shores began
as a two-bedroom log cabin that hosted 50 guests
during its first year in business. By 1912, it had
grown to accommodate 50,000, and was eventually
renamed The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
fairmont.com/lake-louise
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Passions

Peace Out

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
—
John Lennon and Yoko Ono caught the world’s
attention when they held a Bed-In for Peace in
1969. From under the covers at Montreal’s Queen
Elizabeth hotel, the pair shared their message with
more than 150 journalists and composed the song
“Give Peace a Chance.” Modern guests who check
into the John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite will find
it adorned with memorabilia that includes Lennon’s
gold records as well as photos and press clippings
commemorating the event, whose 45th anniversary
takes place this year.

photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

fairmont.com/queen-elizabeth-montreal

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Suites & Penthouses

Classic Manhattan
The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

—
Overlooking Fifth Avenue and the Pulitzer
Fountain, the Royal Plaza Suite has one of the
best views in Manhattan. But you’re forgiven for
being distracted from it by everything else the
Louis X V-inspired space has to offer, including
a grand piano, private gymnasium and a library
personally stocked by Prosper Assouline (the
cofounder of Assouline Publishing).
fairmont.com/the-plaza-new-york

Suite
San Fran

The Fairmont San Francisco

—
So many famous faces have called The Savoy home
– from Charlie Chaplin to Maria Callas – that
the hotel created a series of Personality Suites
dedicated to them. Decorated in either Art Deco
or Edwardian style, the eponymous suites feature
original artwork and photographs depicting the
personality in question, as well as personal touches
like Marlene Dietrich’s beloved pink roses and
Winston Churchill’s favorite Champagne.

—
First debuted in the Roaring
Twenties, The Fairmont San
Francisco’s Penthouse Suite
recently underwent a restoration
led by New York interior design
firm Champalimaud. At 6,000
square feet (557 square meters),
the suite spans the building’s
entire eighth floor and features
a Persian-tiled billiard room,
secret passageways and original
works by contemporary artist
David Hockney. Famous guests
have included Mick Jagger, Tony
Bennett and Prince Charles.

fairmont.com/savoy-london

fairmont.com/san-francisco

London Calling
The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

promos
Green Design

Penthouse Style

Eco-friendly designer Kelly LaPlante outfitted
the Chesapeake Suite with the environment in
mind. Highlights include recycled drapes by
Robert Allen, salvaged birch-tree installations
by Studio Jefrë and IceStone countertops
made from recycled glass and concrete.

Perched on the hotel’s 34th floor, above
the city lights, Fairmont Dubai’s six
penthouse suites exemplify the region’s
unique mix of contemporary style and
lavish Arabian touches – and they all
feature spectacular views of the famed
Sheikh Zayed Road and city skyline.

fairmont.com/washington

fairmont.com/dubai

Fairmont Washington, D.C.,
Georgetown
—

Fairmont Dubai
—

International
Inspiration

Fairmont Peace Hotel
—

Following a three-year restoration, Shanghai’s
Fairmont Peace Hotel is proud to reintroduce
the Nine Nation Suites, each inspired by a
different country. Think shoji screens and
tatami mats for the Japan suite (pictured)
and Victorian-inspired moldings for England.

fairmont.com/peace-hotel-shanghai
Fairmont Magazine

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Passions

Day in the Life

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Last September, Fairmont flew two lucky
contest winners to London, England, courtesy
of Air Canada, to take part in a recording session
at Abbey Road Studios. For your own rock star
experience, book the Abbey Road Studios package
through The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel. In
addition to a stay at the luxury hotel, celebrating its
125th anniversary this year, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get an exclusive
tour of the studios made famous by The Beatles.
fairmont.com/savoy-london

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Fairmont Magazine

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The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

Arts & Entertainment
pag e 17

Home
Sweet Home
Fairmont Heritage Place,
El Corazon de Santa Fe

—
From the Santa Fe Opera Theatre
to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum,
the cultural offerings of Santa Fe,
New Mexico, have made it a mecca
for art enthusiasts. In the heart of
the city you’ll also find Fairmont
residences – vacation homes with
the services of a luxury hotel.
The property showcases Puebloinspired design, including clay
plaster walls and kiva fireplaces,
as well as pieces from local artists.
fairmont.com/el-corazon-santa-fe

Late Show
Fairmont Baku

pag e 2 1

—
In the last 100 years, Calgary, Alberta, has gone
from a Prairie trading center to a major Canadian
metropolis, and The Fairmont Palliser has been
there to witness it all. The hotel, which was built
along the Canadian Pacific Railway, is celebrating
its centennial in 2014 with a series of exciting
activities, including a time capsule burial. To top
it all off, guests can celebrate while enjoying a local
Palliser Ale made just for the occasion.

—
Azerbaijan’s Flame Towers
are famous for the nightly
animation on their facade
– the creation of lighting
designer Francis Krahe and
one of the largest LED displays
in the world. Head inside
Fairmont Baku and you’ll be
just as dazzled by its more than
400-pieces fine-art collection
of local and international
works, curated by Farmboy
Fine Arts.

fairmont.com/palliser-calgary

fairmont.com/baku

Celebrate a Century
The Fairmont Palliser

promos
Game Room

Artist in Residence

Craft Tours

Entirely equipped by Sony, the new Teens
Room By PlayStation makes it easy to keep
older kids entertained while on vacation in
Mexico. Children aged 10–17 can drop by for
weekly dance contests, virtual kart races
and the latest games from PlayStation while
parents sit back and relax.

Find ceramic artist Harumi Ota’s pieces on
display at Victoria’s The Fairmont Empress –
he’s the hotel’s seventh artist-in-residence.
Ota’s work fuses his native Japanese
aesthetic with vibrant South American and
contemporary touches from his current
country of residence, Canada.

If you are looking for an outstanding
souvenir of your trip to India, ask your
concierge about arranging visits to
nearby villages. There you’ll find local
artists creating and selling fine jewelry,
pottery and hand-woven rugs for the
perfect keepsake.

Fairmont Mayakoba
—
photo: Gunnar Knechtel (BAKU)

pag e 1 9

fairmont.com/mayakoba-riviera-maya

The Fairmont Empress
—

fairmont.com/empress-victoria

Fairmont Jaipur
—

fairmont.com/jaipur
Fairmont Magazine

79

Passions

pag e 2 2

Steam Power
â&#x20AC;&#x201D;
Relax like a local at Fairmont The Palm, Dubai,
in the Willow Stream Spaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s private hammam. The
traditional circuit of steam, sauna and ice-cold water
is meant to relieve muscle tension and detoxify
the skin. For a truly authentic experience, try the
60-minute Classic Hammam treatment, which
includes an application of black soap (a moisturizing mix of crushed olives scented with eucalyptus),
exfoliation with a kese glove, a full-body mask
and a conditioning hair treatment.
fairmont.com/palm-dubai

—
Sign up for a rejuvenating
weekend with the Well & Being
Relaxation package and enjoy a
$200 credit (per night’s accommodation) at the resort’s Well &
Being at Willow Stream Spa. For
a treatment designed especially
for the dry desert climate, ask
for a Jojoba Prickly Pear Sugar
Scrub, or spend some time in the
eucalyptus inhalation room.

Happy Trails
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

—
Staying fit while on the road is easier when you have
a beautiful backdrop. Ask your concierge about the
14 miles of running trails in nearby Stanley Park. At
more than 1,000 acres, it is one of North America’s
largest urban green spaces. If you need to catch
your breath, stop in at the Vancouver Aquarium,
where you’ll find dolphins and sea otters.

photo: Patrick Nadeau and Caroline Hamel (stanley park)

fairmont.com/scottsdale

fairmont.com/hotel-vancouver

pag e 2 3

pr o m o s

Canadian Retreat

Fairmont Fit

Pamper Yourself

Named one of the top resort spas in Canada
by Condé Nast, the Willow Stream Spa at
The Fairmont Empress in Victoria, Canada,
offers a menu of more than 85 treatments
as well as a broad range of facilities,
including a Hungarian mineral pool and a
Finnish steam room.

Fairmont President’s Club members
have access to workout essentials while
they travel, courtesy of Fairmont Fit and
Reebok. Hit the gym (or go for a run)
with a pair of ZigLite running shoes and a
pre-loaded MP3 player, all delivered right
to your room.

Book the Pamper Yourself package at
Fairmont Zimbali Resort in South Africa
and you’ll enjoy a night’s accommodation,
meals in Thandi restaurant and the
Willow Stream Spa’s By the Sea
treatment, which includes an algae
application and body wrap.

The Fairmont Empress
—

fairmont.com/empress-victoria

Select properties
—

fairmont.com/fpc/fairmont-fit

Fairmont Zimbali Resort
—

fairmont.com/zimbali-resort
Fairmont Magazine

81

Passions

Fairmont Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten
—
Restaurant Haerlin reopens its doors after
renovations led by London-based design firm
Richmond International. The two-Michelin-starred
Hamburg institution now features a chef ’s table in
the heart of the kitchen, where up to eight guests
can watch award-winning chef Christoph Rüffers
at work. Opt for a seat in the main room and
you’ll dine on specialities like baked partridge and
rhubarb sorbet under a striking Lasvit chandelier,
made up of over 20,000 black and white crystals.
fairmont.com/vier-jahreszeiten-hamburg

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Fairmont Magazine

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Dine and Dazzle

Food & Drink

Nobu’s
New Flavor

Sample Sonoma

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
—
Guests at newly renovated The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn
& Spa can savor everything California wine country has to offer
with the Food & Wine Experience package. It includes an artisan
cheese platter on arrival, locally made chocolates at turndown,
sampling passes for two to a local winery and a four-course tasting
menu in the hotel’s Michelin-rated restaurant, Santé.
fairmont.com/sonoma

Champagne Dreams

pag e 2 5

Fairmont partnership
—
Established in 1785, Piper-Heidsieck has been the official
Champagne supplier to 14 royal courts – as well as to Fairmont
Hotels & Resorts. Find it on Modern Classics cocktail menus in
Fairmont bars and restaurants worldwide. You can enjoy PiperHeidsieck Brut NV by-the-glass or with vintage Barbadian rum,
peach puree and Campari in a Sunset Splash. piper-heidsieck.com

Fairmont Monte Carlo
—
Celebrated chef Nobuyuki “Nobu”
Matsuhisa rang in the opening of his
27th restaurant, Nobu at Fairmont
Monte Carlo, with a traditional
Japanese kagami-biraki (sake ceremony),
meant to bring good fortune. Prince
Albert and Princess Charlene of
Monaco and Nobu business partner
Robert DeNiro joined the hotel’s
General Manager General Xavier
Rugeroni to break open a sake barrel
and eat mochi, traditional soft rice cakes
from Japan. The new outpost features
152 seats, two private rooms and a
terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.
fairmont.com/monte-carlo

promos
Epic Brunch

Flaming Coffee

Savor Scotland

The most important meal of the day should
be savored. Every Friday, Fairmont The
Palm prepares BreakSlow, a relaxed brunch
experience that includes a mix of healthy and
delicious goodies like fresh-pressed juices, a
morning twist on a shawarma and pumpkin
loaf to take home with you.

Exclusive to the Nur Lounge, Flaming
Coffee is composed of rich liqueurs and
prepared tableside. Choose your flavor,
from coconut to chocolate. It’s the ideal
treat to indulge in at the city’s famous
Flame Towers and a perfect pick-me-up
on its own or after a meal.

Experience the culinary traditions of Scotland
firsthand with the Taste of Scotland package.
FPC members can indulge in a traditional
Scottish breakfast, take a tour of St Andrews
Farmhouse Cheese Company (pictured) and,
of course, learn about the art behind single
malt whisky.

photo: Joan Ransley (cheese)

Fairmont The Palm, Dubai
—

fairmont.com/palm-dubai

Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers
—

fairmont.com/baku

Fairmont St Andrews, Scotland
—

fairmont.com/st-andrews-scotland
Fairmont Magazine

83

Passions

Italy To-Go
—
Shopping for gourmet groceries in Vancouver,
Canada, is as simple as visiting Fairmont Pacific
Rim. Adjacent to executive chef Darren Brown’s
giovane café + winebar, the market at giovane is a
one-stop shop for imports from around the world
(with a focus on Italy), including olive oil, pasta,
cheeses and chocolate. It’s also a great place to
pick up soups, charcuterie and preserves, all
produced in-house.
fairmont.com/pacific-rim-vancouver

84

Fairmont Magazine

photos: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fairmont Pacific Rim

Shopping & Style

Say Yes
to the Dress
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel

—
Sign up for the Shopping in Luxury package and
you’ll receive a $100 gift card to the capital city’s Saks
Fifth Avenue as well as advice from a personal shopper (upon request) and a beauty consultation with an
expert from top brands like Dior and Bobbi Brown.
The package also includes transportation to and from
the store as well as a room on the Fairmont Gold
Floor, so you can live in luxury for your entire stay.

—
Every bride will agree – the less to
think about on your big day, the
better. Book a wedding at
The Fairmont Olympic Hotel in
Seattle, which has been hosting
nuptials for over 75 years, and you
can choose a stunning designer
wedding dress or custom-tailored
suit from Luly Yang Couture. Yang
is an award-winning local designer
whose creations are inspired by her
travels in Paris aand Shanghai.

fairmont.com/washington

fairmont.com/seattle

Shopping Chauffeur
Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown

Boston Blowout
The Fairmont Copley Plaza

—
Look your best in Boston courtesy of the Step Out
In Style shopping package. Kick off your shopping
spree on the city’s trendy Newbury Street, with a $100
gift card from American Express, then prepare to be
pampered by the team at Blo Dry Bar, who will refresh
your ’do in-room before a night out on the town.
fairmont.com/copley-plaza-boston

promos

pag e 24

French Fashion

Market Tour

Bring Fairmont Home

Discover what’s in fashion on the French
Riviera with the Fashion Time package,
available exclusively to Fairmont President’s
Club members. Along with a night’s
accommodation you’ll get a private, fourhour presentation of a local designer’s
latest collection.

Buy groceries like a pro with the Shop with
a Chef package at Toronto’s St. Lawrence
Market. Through a one-hour guided tour –
and some tasty sampling – you’ll learn how
to pick out the best ingredients, from the
perfect cut of meat to the freshest fruit, all
from local producers.

Do you love the scent of Le Labo’s Rose 31
shampoo? Are you craving Organic Kyoto
Cherry Rose Tea? Head online to the Fairmont
Store to shop for amenities, tea, pillows – even
the comfortable mattress you find at your
favorite Fairmont – so you can recreate your
travel memories at home.

Fairmont Monte Carlo
—

fairmont.com/monte-carlo

The Fairmont Royal York
—

fairmont.com/royal-york-toronto

Fairmont Store
—

fairmontstore.com
Fairmont Magazine

85

Leadership & Philanthropy

Hotel Habitat
Fairmont Royal York

Buzzing Buildings
Select properties

—
With rooftop hives at more than
20 hotels, Fairmont has long been
commmitted to combatting the loss
of bee habitat by fostering thriving
honeybee colonies. Now Fairmont is
expanding its efforts to create new
spaces for solitary, pollinator bees.
Why? Because these tiny creatures
are responsible for crop pollination,
and ultimately the future of the
global food supply.

—
Fairmont – along with partners
Burt’s Bees Canada, architectural firm
Sustainable.TO and conservation not-forprofit Pollinator Partnership Canada – is
giving shelter to bees in need by placing a
custom Wild for Bees “hotel” on the roof
of the Fairmont Royal York in downtown
Toronto (pictured here, mimicking the
city skyline). Bee hotels act as nesting
grounds for solitary pollinator bees,
whose numbers are in decline. And while
you’ll never see the buzzing guests as they
come and go, we hope you enjoy your next
Fairmont stay as much as they do.
fairmont.com/promotions/
fairmontbees //
pollinatorpartnership.ca

fairmont.com/promotions/
fairmontbees

Beauty and the Bees
Fairmont partnership

—
Fairmont and eco-beauty brand Burt’s Bees Canada have guests buzzing. In
support of the Wild for Bees campaign, The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto,
Canada, is offering an exclusive product in its gift shops: Burt’s Bees Hydrating
Lip Balm with Coconut & Pear. For the month of June – aka “Pollinator Month”
– proceeds go towards the expansion of Wild For Bees, which creates habitats
for bees across Canada. fairmont.com/royal-york-toronto // burtsbees.ca

Fairmont Quasar Hotel and Residences, Turkey — The density of urban development in Istanbul’s Mecidiyeköy neighborhood belies what
was once there: a vast expanse of unused land that famed French modernist architect Robert Mallet-Stevens used as a blank canvas for his
design of the Mecidiyeköy Liqueur and Cognac Factory. Since populated – and dwarfed – by the expansion of the area into an important
commercial district, the 1930s building will once again take pride of place as a marvel of modern design. Set to open in 2016, Fairmont Quasar
Hotel and Residences will offer luxuriously appointed private apartments inspired by the aesthetics of New York and Paris. The tower will rise
41 stories alongside the Marcel Wanders-designed Quasar Residences (pictured here, graced by his dramatic “Quasar Head” statue) at the
restored distillery – a fashionable new destination for art exhibits and cultural events. Candice Fridman
quasaristanbul.com/en, fairmont.com

Fairmont Magazine

89

Make your visit more rewarding.

Make the most of every moment with your
Fairmont Visa Signature® Card.

Savor a gourmet meal. Relax at the spa. Or swing away. Just remember to use your card for
every purchase to earn Fairmont Rewards:

• 5 for every $1 spent on Fairmont stays
• 2 for every $1 spent on airline tickets
purchased directly with airlines, at car rental
agencies, and on transit and commuting
• 1 for every $1 spent on all other purchases

PRESIDENTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CLUB PRIVILEGES.
As a member, you can enjoy Reebok workout apparel and footwear
during your stay. Learn more about Fairmont Fit and how to save
20% on Reebok merchandise (valid in Canada and the US) at
Fairmont.com/fpc/Fairmont-fit